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Radiological aspects
T he objective of this chapter is to provide criteria with which to assess the safety of
drinking-water with respect to its radionuclide content. The Guidelines do not
differentiate between naturally occurring and artificial or human-made radionuclides.
The guidance values for radioactivity in drinking-water recommended in the first
edition of the Guidelines were based on the risks of exposure to radiation sources and
the health consequences of exposure to radiation. The second edition of the Guidelines
incorporated the 1990 recommendations of the International Commission on Radio-
logical Protection (ICRP, 1991). The third edition incorporates recent developments,
including the ICRP publications on prolonged exposures and on dose coefficients.
Radiological hazards may derive from ionizing radiation emitted by a number of
radioactive substances (chemicals) in drinking-water. Such hazards from drinking-
water are rarely of public health significance, and radiation exposure from drinking-
water must be assessed alongside exposure from other sources.
The approach taken in the Guidelines for controlling radiological hazards has two
stages:
— initial screening for gross alpha and/or beta activity to determine whether the
activity concentrations (in Bq/litre) are below levels at which no further action
is required; and
— if these screening levels are exceeded, investigation of the concentrations of indi-
vidual radionuclides and comparison with specific guidance levels.
The risk due to radon in drinking-water derived from groundwater is typically low
compared with that due to total inhaled radon but is distinct, as exposure occurs
through both consumption of dissolved gas and inhalation of released radon and its
daughter radionuclides. Greatest exposure is general ambient inhalation and inhala-
tion from terrestrial sources, where the gas is infiltrating into dwellings, especially into
basements. Radon of groundwater origin would usually be a small increment of the
total, but may indicate deposits in the region that are emitting into basements.
The screening and guidance levels apply to routine (“normal”) operational condi-
tions of existing or new drinking-water supplies. They do not apply to a water supply
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GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING-WATER QUALITY
— a recommended reference dose level (RDL) of the committed effective dose, equal
to 0.1 mSv from 1 year’s consumption of drinking-water (from the possible total
radioactive contamination of the annual drinking-water consumption). This
comprises 10% of the intervention exemption level recommended by the ICRP
for dominant commodities (e.g., food and drinking-water) for prolonged expo-
sure situations, which is most relevant to long-term consumption of drinking-
water by the public (ICRP, 2000). The RDL of 0.1 mSv is also equal to 10% of the
dose limit for members of the population, recommended by both the ICRP (1991)
and the International Basic Safety Standards (IAEA, 1996). These are accepted by
most WHO Member States, the European Commission, FAO and WHO.
— dose coefficients for adults, provided by the ICRP.
The additional risk to health from exposure to an annual dose of 0.1 mSv associated
with the intake of radionuclides from drinking-water is considered to be low for the
following reasons:
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9. RADIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Radon (natural
internal exposure)
Other artificial 43%
(human-made)
sources
1%
Food, water
(natural internal
exposure)
8%
Earth gamma
radiation
(natural external
exposure)
15%
Medical exposure
20%
Cosmic rays
(natural external exposure)
13%
Figure 9.1 Sources and distribution of average radiation exposure for the world population
on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR, 2000) has estimated that the global
average annual human exposure from natural sources is 2.4 mSv/year (Table 9.1).
Some sources (e.g., uranium) can be concentrated during extraction by mining and
other industrial activities.
There are large local variations in human exposure to radiation, depending on a
number of factors, such as height above sea level, the amount and type of radio-
nuclides in the soil (terrestrial exposure), the composition of radionuclides in the air,
food and drinking-water and the amount taken into the body via inhalation or inges-
tion. There are certain areas of the world, such as parts of the Kerala state in India
and the Pocos del Caldas plateau in Brazil, where levels of background radiation are
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GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING-WATER QUALITY
relatively high. Levels of exposure for the general population in such areas may be up
to 10 times higher than the average background level of 2.4 mSv given in Table 9.1.
No deleterious health effects associated with this elevated radiation exposure have
been detected (UNSCEAR, 2000).
Several radioactive compounds may be released into the environment, and hence
into drinking-water supplies, from human activities and human-made sources (e.g.,
from medical or industrial use of radioactive sources). The worldwide per capita effec-
tive dose from diagnostic medical examination in 2000 was 0.4 mSv/year (typical
range is 0.04–1.0 mSv/year, depending on level of health care). There is only a very
small worldwide contribution from nuclear power production and nuclear weapons
testing. The worldwide annual per capita effective dose from nuclear weapons testing
in 2000 was estimated at 0.005 mSv; from the Chernobyl accident, 0.002 mSv; and
from nuclear power production, 0.0002 mSv (UNSCEAR, 2000).
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9. RADIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
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GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING-WATER QUALITY
Table 9.2 Dose coefficients for ingestion of radionuclides by adult members of the public
Category Radionuclide Dose coefficient (mSv/Bq)
Natural uranium series Uranium-238 4.5 ¥ 10-5
Uranium-234 4.9 ¥ 10-5
Thorium-230 2.1 ¥ 10-4
Radium-226 2.8 ¥ 10-4
Lead-210 6.9 ¥ 10-4
Polonium-210 1.2 ¥ 10-3
Natural thorium series Thorium-232 2.3 ¥ 10-4
Radium-228 6.9 ¥ 10-4
Thorium-228 7.2 ¥ 10-5
Fission products Caesium-134 1.9 ¥ 10-5
Caesium-137 1.3 ¥ 10-5
Strontium-90 2.8 ¥ 10-5
Iodine-131 2.2 ¥ 10-5
Other radionuclides Tritium 1.8 ¥ 10-8
Carbon-14 5.8 ¥ 10-7
Plutonium-239 2.5 ¥ 10-4
Americium-241 2.0 ¥ 10-4
naturally occurring radionuclides or those arising from human activities that might
be found in drinking-water supplies (IAEA, 1996; ICRP, 1996).
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9. RADIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
continued
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GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING-WATER QUALITY
The higher age-dependent dose coefficients calculated for children (accounting for
the higher uptake and/or metabolic rates) do not lead to significantly higher doses
due to the lower mean volume of drinking-water consumed by infants and children.
Consequently, the recommended RDL of committed effective dose of 0.1 mSv/year
from 1 year’s consumption of drinking-water applies independently of age.
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9. RADIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
Ci
 GL i
£1
i
where:
Ci = the measured activity concentration of radionuclide i, and
GLi = the guidance level value (see Table 9.3) of radionuclide i that, at an intake of
2 litres/day for 1 year, will result in a committed effective dose of 0.1 mSv/year.
Where the sum exceeds unity for a single sample, the RDL of 0.1 mSv would be
exceeded only if the exposure to the same measured concentrations were to continue
for a full year. Hence, such a sample does not in itself imply that the water is unsuitable
for consumption but should be regarded as an indication that further investigation,
including additional sampling, is needed. Gross beta and gross alpha activity screen-
ing has to be repeated first, then radionuclide-specific analysis conducted only if sub-
sequently measured gross values exceed the recommended practical screening values
(1 Bq/litre and 0.5 Bq/litre, respectively).
The application of these recommendations is summarized in Figure 9.2.
The gross beta measurement includes a contribution from potassium-40, a beta
emitter that occurs naturally in a fixed ratio to stable potassium. Potassium is an essen-
tial element for humans and is absorbed mainly from ingested food. Potassium-40
does not accumulate in the body but is maintained at a constant level independent of
intake. The contribution of potassium-40 to beta activity should therefore be sub-
tracted following a separate determination of total potassium. The specific activity of
potassium-40 is 30.7 Bq/g of potassium. However, not all the radiation from
potassium-40 appears as beta activity. The beta activity of potassium-40 is 27.6 Bq/g
of stable potassium, which is the factor that should be used to calculate the beta
activity due to potassium-40.
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GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING-WATER QUALITY
Determine gross α
and gross β activity
Determine individual
radionuclide concentrations
and compare with
guidance levels
Figure 9.2 Application of screening and guidance levels for radionuclides in drinking-water
9.5 Radon
9.5.1 Radon in air and water
The largest fraction of natural radiation exposure comes from radon, a radioactive
gas (see Table 9.1 and Figure 9.1), due to decay of radium contained in rocks and soil
as part of the uranium radionuclide chain. The term radon in general refers mostly
to radon-222. Radon is present virtually everywhere on Earth, but particularly in the
air over land and in buildings.
Underground rock containing natural uranium continuously releases radon into
water in contact with it (groundwater). Radon is readily released from surface water;
consequently, groundwater has potentially much higher concentrations of radon than
surface water. The average concentration of radon is usually less than 0.4 Bq/litre in
public water supplies derived from surface waters and about 20 Bq/litre from ground-
water sources. However, some wells have been identified with higher concentrations,
up to 400 times the average, and in rare cases exceeding 10 kBq/litre.
In assessing the dose from radon ingestion, it is important that water processing
technology that can remove radon be considered before consumption is taken into
account. Moreover, the use of radon-containing groundwater supplies not treated for
radon removal (usually by aeration) for general domestic purposes will increase the
levels of radon in the indoor air, thus increasing the dose from indoor inhalation. This
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GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING-WATER QUALITY
dose depends markedly on the forms of domestic usage and housing construction
(NCRP, 1989), because most of the indoor air radon usually enters from the founda-
tion of the house in contact with the ground rather than from the water. The amount
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9. RADIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
and form of water intake, other domestic usage of water and the construction of
houses vary widely throughout the world.
UNSCEAR (2000) refers to a US NAS (1999) report and calculates the “average
doses from radon in drinking water to be as low as 0.025 mSv/year via inhalation and
0.002 mSv/year from ingestion” compared with the inhalation dose of 1.1 mSv/year
from radon and its decay products in air.
9.5.2 Risk
Large pooled studies of indoor radon and lung cancer risk have recently become avail-
able. The European pooled analysis of 13 indoor radon studies estimated a 16% risk
increase per 100 Bq/m3 (Darby et al., 2005). Based on these data, radon accounts for
about 9% of all lung cancer deaths and 2% of total cancer deaths in Europe. Similar
results were obtained from the joint analysis of North American radon studies
(Krewski et al., 2005).
For the USA, the US EPA has estimated that radon causes about 21 000 lung cancer
deaths per year (with an uncertainty range of 8000–45 000), out of about 160 000
annual lung cancer deaths (US EPA, 2003). Radon is the second leading cause of lung
cancer, after smoking.
US NAS (1999) reports an approximately 100-fold smaller risk from exposure to
radon in drinking-water (i.e., 183 deaths each year). In addition to the 19 000 deaths
from lung cancer caused by radon in indoor air, a further 160 were estimated to result
from inhaling radon that was emitted from water used in the home. For comparison,
about 700 lung cancer deaths each year were attributed to exposure to natural levels
of radon while people are outdoors.
The US NAS (1999) also assessed that the risk of stomach cancer caused by
drinking-water that contains dissolved radon is extremely small, with the probability
of about 20 deaths annually compared with the 13 000 deaths from stomach cancer
that arise each year from other causes in the USA.
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9. RADIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
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GUIDELINES FOR DRINKING-WATER QUALITY
Table 9.4 Methods for the analysis of gross alpha and gross beta activities in drinking-water
Method, reference Technique Detection limit Application
International Organization Evaporation 0.02–0.1 Bq/litre Groundwater with TDS greater
for Standardization: than 0.1 g/litre
ISO-9695 (for gross beta)
ISO-9696 (gross alpha)
(ISO, 1991a, 1991b)
American Public Health Co-precipitation 0.02 Bq/litre Surface water and groundwater
Association (APHA, 1998) (TDS is not a factor)
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9. RADIOLOGICAL ASPECTS
9.6.4 Sampling
New groundwater sources for public supplies should be sampled at least once to deter-
mine their suitability for drinking-water supply before design and construction to
characterize the radiological quality of the water supply and to assess any seasonal
variation in radionuclide concentrations. This should include analysis for radon and
radon daughters.
Once measurements indicate the normal range of the supply, then the sampling
frequency can be reduced to, for example, every 5 years. However, if sources of
potential radionuclide contamination exist nearby (e.g., mining activity or nuclear
reactors), then sampling should be more frequent. Less significant surface and under-
ground drinking-water sources may be sampled less frequently.
Levels of radon and radon daughters in groundwater supplies are usually stable
over time. Monitoring of water for radon and its daughters can therefore be relatively
infrequent. Knowledge of the geology of the area should be considered in determin-
ing whether the source is likely to contain significant concentrations of radon and
radon daughters. An additional risk factor would be the presence of mining in the
vicinity; in such circumstances, more frequent monitoring may be appropriate.
Guidance on assessing water quality, sampling techniques and programmes and the
preservation and handling of samples is given in the Australian and New Zealand
Standard (AS, 1998).
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